People come to me with questions.
Frankly, I enjoy questions because they force me to dig deeper.
Someone who knew English is not my first language asked me about a hymn.
They asked me if I knew the lyrics to that hymn in my first language.
I said I did and they asked me to recite it back to them in that language.
The hymn in question was Jesus Loves Me.
This is a song many children learn.
Strangely enough, we tend not to sing it when we become adults.
Anna Bartlett Warner wrote the words.
William B. Bradbury composed the tune.
Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong;
they are weak, but he is strong.
The version I was taught as a child goes like this:
Má Pán Ježíš, má mě rád,
Čisto Písmo nastokrát!
Všecky děti, jak jen jsou,
srdci jeho zálibou.
This is an adequate translation, albeit inexact.
So, I translated the second version back into English literally.
The result was both pleasantly surprising and reassuring.
My Lord Jesus, He has love for me,
Pure Scripture (tells me) a hundred times over!
All children, whatever they are,
(they are) a passion close to His heart.
Although not quite, the original, I love the retranslation.
Our Lord Jesus has love for us.
Pure Scripture reminds us of this repeatedly.
All children, even those my age, are a passion close to His heart.
This is why I love questions and enjoy digging deeper.
In doing so, a simple melody intended for children is transformed.
It becomes a poetic message about Christ’s active love for us all.
Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
Look for me at otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com on Friday, July 10,
2026.
I will be back here on Friday, July 17, 2026
